28 THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 2 JULY 2016 SPORT DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM ISSN 1321-1676 9 771321 167062 Portugal knocks Poland out in penalty shoot-out Portugal’s players Ricardo Quaresma (C), Eliseu (L) and Eduardo (R) celebrate after winning the shoot-out during the UEFA EURO 2016 quarter final match against Poland. PHOTO: AAP VIA EPA/BARTLOMIEJ ZBOROWSKI. Portugal has squeezed past a gallant Polish team to advance to the semifinals of Euro 2016, where it awaits the winner of the Belgium-Wales quarter final played this morning. A penalty shoot-out was needed to decide the tie, after both teams finished extra time at 1-1 in the Thursday night match at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. Poland made a bright start to the match when captain and talisman Robert Lewandowski wasted little time in scoring his first goal of the tournament within two minutes of the start of play. He showed his fine goal scoring instincts to produce an excellent first-time shot from a Kamil Grosicki cross after Portuguese full back Cedric misjudged the bounce of the ball. Lewandowski's goal gave the Poles the confidence to continue attacking, and with Lewandowski as a focal point they continued to threaten the Portuguese defence. In contrast, Portugal took a while to get going but worked itself into the contest as it gradually started to control possession better and looked for a way through a solid Polish defence through interchange of forwards and attacking midfielders. One of those midfielders, 18-year-old Renato Sanches, combined with Nani to create the Portuguese equaliser in the 33rd minute. Sanches fired home his left foot shot from 20 metres for his first ever international goal. It's little surprise Bayern Munich has snapped up the prodigiously talented youngster. Chances were scarce for both sides in the second half, during which both teams took fewer risks as it progressed. Portuguese coach Santos deployed the creative Sanches in a wider position in the second half, where he had less influence on Portugal's build up play. Poland's Lewandowski also saw less of the ball in the second half, forcing him to drop deeper. Polish striker Milic had his team's best chance of the second half when his header forced a good save down low from Portuguese keeper Rui Patricio. At the other end, Ronaldo hit the side netting with an effort and then missed the ball entirely when a Moutinho chip found him in space in behind the Polish back four. Extra time failed to break the stalemate as both teams seemed content to take the match to penalties without troubling the keepers. Ronaldo scored from the first penalty of the shootout, and it was goal for goal until Poland's fourth penalty taker and one of its brightest lights of the tournament Jakub Blaszczykowski had his shot saved by keeper Patricio with a fine save to his left. Portuguese sub Ricardo Quaresma then stepped up to slot home the winning penalty which broke Polish hearts and sent Portuguese hearts rejoicing. Bentleigh Greens, Victory and City head interstate for Rd 32 of FFA Cup Victorian NPL 1 club Bentleigh Greens is South Australia-bound after being the only Melbourne NPL club to draw an away fixture in the Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 draw on Thursday. The Greens have drawn South Australian NPL club Metro Stars. Melbourne's two A-League clubs are also headed interstate for their matches. Metro Stars are currently sitting mid-table in the NPL SA, between West Adelaide Hellas and Adelaide Olympic. They were national NPL champions in 2014. "It's a very tough game," was Bentleigh Greens coach John Anastasiadis’ immediate reaction on the side being drawn away to the Metro Stars. "They did very well last year in the FFA Cup. So we're under no illusions it's going to be a very tough encounter." Perth NPL club Floreat Athena has drawn an ALeague opponent and can expect a bumper crowd when it hosts Melbourne City. However, third-tier club Surfers Paradise Apollo wasn't so lucky, missing out on a home tie. Instead it will travel to the cold of Canberra to take on Canberra Olympic in a Hellenic derby. THE ROUND OF 32 MATCHES WILL TAKE PLACE BETWEEN 26 JULY AND 10 AUGUST. Blacktown City v Sydney United 58 FC Bonnyrigg White Eagles v Manly United Brisbane Roar v Perth Glory Canberra Olympic FC v Surfers Paradise Apollo Devonport City v Lambton Jaffas Far North Qld v Edgeworth FC Green Gully v Central Coast Mariners Melbourne knights v Cockburn City Hume City v Marconi Stallions Metro Stars v Bentleigh Greens Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory Redlands United v Adelaide United Shamrock Rovers Darwin v Brisbane Strikers Wellington Phoenix v Western Sydney Wanderers Woolongong Wolves v Sydney FC Floreat Athena v Melbourne City